Established in 1997, İstanbul Bilgi University Visual Communication Design Department aims at educating the designers of tomorrow with the expertise first to conceive the most compelling visual problems then dwell upon them systematically, applying their practical media skills together with theoretical knowledge so as to offer creative solutions. At the end of this challenging process, students become adept in advancing the applications of developing technologies in daily life. Towards the fulfillment of this mission, the program is designed to equip the students with a professional and comprehensive training in visual media while endowing them with the required liberal arts education. In VCD, the core courses cover various topics such as multimedia design, publication design, cyberculture, animation, typography and video production. The curriculum is shaped by the educational policy of the department which prioritizes practice and end-product; thus the students are encouraged to develop their own personal style in design. Highly competitive students’ works are presented both through year-end annual exhibits to national admirers and also find a chance to reach out to new audience by participating in international festivals, as in the case of our exhibit at Ars Electronica in 2005.

Driven by the ideal of design excellence, the department adopts a global understanding of design while setting its standards and accordingly is involved in international collaborations, projects, student and instructor exchange programmes through its membership of several international associations.